Safety at Merritt Academy and Around Fairfax

On Monday, October 6, there was a threat against the Merritt Academy, which is one of the larger pre-schools (and private schools) near Mantua. MCA asked the Mason Precinct of FCPD for more details on the incident, and they provided the following information:

• Over the weekend of October 4, Merritt received a voicemail with a bomb threat, and they called FCPD on Monday morning. Merritt admin closed the school out of an abundance of caution.
• On Monday morning, FCPD deployed its Threat Assessment and Management Unit (a specialized unit focused on issues like bomb threats) and Explosive Ordinance Disposal unit, including bomb-sniffing dogs. No evidence of any device was found anywhere on the property.
• Subsequent analysis of the voicemail indicated the call originated from India.
• FCPD does not believe that any active threat exists, and Merritt students attended school again the next day.

Fairfax County remains one of the safest counties of its size in the US, and the Mason precinct, which includes Mantua, is one of the safest in the county. Recent stats presented at the monthly Community Advisory Committee meeting showed that Mason precinct is down in all major crime categories year-to-date vs. 2023 and 2024.

Anybody who wants to can attend the monthly Community Advisory Committee meetings at Mason Precinct, which are held on the first Tuesday of each month at 7:00 p.m. (However, next month’s meeting will be held on November 5 because of election day).